


Blood and rain

by Ceciliedr



Series: In another life [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Batbrothers (DCU), Blood and Violence, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Doesn't get very far, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Protective Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:48:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27943274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceciliedr/pseuds/Ceciliedr
Summary: Jason is not supposed to care so much. He’s supposed to put the first stages of his plan in motion. But an entire apartment complex going up in smoke is hard to miss. That his brother survived was dumb luck and Jason won’t rely on it to save the moron a second time.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd
Series: In another life [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2046326
Comments: 23
Kudos: 251





	Blood and rain

**Author's Note:**

> See end notes for a trigger warning. Stay safe.
> 
> Disclaimer; the author still hasn't picked up a batman comic and probably won't. 
> 
> I'm not really happy with the chapter, but it's been a week and it wasn't getting any better😅

Rain drums against his helmet. Reducing the night’s visibility to near nothing. City lights distorted in the distance.

Jason is not supposed to care so much. He’s supposed to put the first stages of his plan in motion. But an entire apartment complex going up in smoke is hard to miss. That his brother survived was dumb luck and Jason won’t rely on it to save the moron a second time.

A muffled gunshot.

Anybody less familiar with the sound could mistake it for something else. But Jason grapples onto the roof, gravel crunching underneath his boots as he lands. Heading for the access door to the building’s internal staircase. It flings open and he hides in the shadows on instinct.

Dick comes stumbling out.

A single look at his uncoordinated movements is enough to confirm something is seriously wrong. No trace of the fluid graze normally present in all his brother’s actions. As natural for the acrobat as breathing.

Despite that and what looks like blood spatter on his suit, Dick doesn’t appear injured.

A woman follows him out. Her lips are moving. She turns her head away before Jason has a chance to read them. Words drowned out by the rain.

Jason recognizes her on the costume. He didn’t have much time to gather information, but she came up. Tarantula, second of that name. Catalina Flores. Former FBI agent turned anti-hero. Jason refuses to use the term vigilante no matter what the police file said.

Arrested for the murder of Delmore Redhorn. Chief of police at the time and corrupt to the bone. Cut loose thanks to her brother’s efforts far as Jason can tell.

The golden boy himself helped put her away. With makes it extra strange that she is with him now.

A shiver runs down Jason’s back, nothing to do with the rain finding a way past his jacket.

Dick stumbles again. Back hitting the rooftop as he just lies there, staring into the sky.

Something is seriously wrong.

Tarantula gets on top of him. Jason takes a silent step closer, he can see Dick’s lips move. Incoherent mutterings. Dick’s clearly in shock. Yet Jason makes out both _no_ and _stop_.

The bitch doesn’t care.

She curls her fingers around the edge of Dick’s pants- everything turns green.

It’s a flood wave of rage consuming him. The world’s seen through a lens of poisonous green. Protect. Punish. Tear apart. Hurt. Rip to shreds. Destroy. Protect.

Bones break under his firsts and Jason hardly notices it. Warmth against his legs, blood soaking through his pants.

Jason slams back into himself hearing someone sobbing. Looking over, Dick’s curled into a ball nearby.

Hints of copper make it through his air filters.

Tarantula is below him. Arms and hands a broken mess. Bones twisting out of torn flesh. Jason doesn’t need to look for a pulse, he won’t find one. Not with the way her face is carved in. His hands ache. The rain slowly washing the blood off his gloves. A pool of it spreading out over the gravel. They are going to need dental records to identify her.

Jason gets off the body.

Pushing the remnants of the pit aside is easy when confronted with Dick’s trembling form. He still doesn’t appear to have any physical injuries, but Jason knows from experience that the mental shit can be so much worse.

What can he even say to make this better?

“You’re safe now.” His hand hovers somewhere over Dick’s shoulder, not sure his touch is welcomed. Dick curls in on himself tighter and Jason disables the voice modificator. His secrets no longer his top priority.

“I got you ‘wing. You’re safe now. I have your back. I promise.”

Dick hesitantly looks up. The white lenses of the domino mask block his eyes, but Jason knows they are glazed over and unfocused. Can hear it in his brother’s erratic breathing.

“You are safe now.”

“Jay?”

Jason sucks in a breath. His name on Dick’s lips sounds like a prayer. So full of hope and pain alike.

“I’m here big bird. I got you now.”

“Jay.” Dick might as well be looking through him. Good chance his secrets will remain as such, with how out of it Dick is.

“We need to get out of here. Can I help you stand?”

Dick continues to stare at him. Jason takes several mediative breaths. He wants to fill Tarantula’s body with lead. Then go downstairs, find what or who hurt Dick to begin with and hurt it back with interest.

“I need to move you Dick, can I touch you?”

“I failed Jay.” If he wasn’t paying close attention, he would have missed the muttered words. The guilty tone is like a stab to the heart. Pain constricting his chest. Goddamn Dick and his fucking martyr complex.

“You did everything you could.” No matter what happened, that will always be true. “Time to let someone else take care of you.”

That has him flinching and Jason bits his tongue and swallows down a scream of rage. Okay, not repeating that sentence anytime soon.

“Come one Dickiebird. We need to get out of here and I need to touch you to help. Can I?”

The relief is like a weight off his chest when Dick finally nods. Blood is still dripping off his gloves. Jason decides dealing with potential fingerprints is preferable to getting any traces of her on his brother.

He quickly checks Dick over for injuries, just to be on the safe side, keeping his touches light. Jason finds nothing that needs to be addressed anytime soon. But Dick’s sharp intakes of breath speaks to layers upon layers of bruises underneath the suit.

Jason’s never been as happy for that growth spurt, as he‘s right now. Extra height and muscles allowing him to lift his brother up. Despite Dick doing very little to help and his lean frame being nothing but muscle.

“I’m here. I’m right here.”

He places Dick’s arms around his neck and lets the other cling tightly as they grapple down to street-level. Keeping a firm arm around his brothers waist. Dick is still trembling.

Jason steals a car. Better than dragging Dick’s deadweight over the rooftops. Or risking the exposure of humbling along the streets. The last thing they need right now is to be seen.

Dick refuses to let go, burring his face in Jason’s neck. Jason lets him. Driving is a pain with Dick in his lap, but he’s not going to deny the other any comfort he can get.

Jason only has a few safehouses in Bludheaven. The nicest one is a little house tugged away on the outskirts of the city. The longer drive is worth Dick waking up somewhere that should feel safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Tarantula attempts to rape Dick while he is completely out of it. He's still fully clothed by the time Jason intervenes. 
> 
> Did a little research before writing this (wiki) and I can't believe that Tarantula and Dick should have a relationship afterwards. Right? Someone, please tell me the writers didn't do that.


End file.
